Alonso Perez de Guzman

Alonso Perez de Guzman (10 September 1550-26 July 1615) was the Duke of Medina Sidonia and the commander-in-chief of the Spanish Armada during the Anglo-Spanish War.

Biography
Alonso Perez de Guzman was born on 10 September 1550 in Sanlucar de Barrameda, Cadiz, Spain. He was the seventh Duke of Medina Sidonia, and on 9 February 1588 he was appointed commander of the Spanish Armada after the death of Alvaro de Bazan (the Marquis de Santa Cruz). Guzman highlighted his lack of military experience on land and sea un a warning letter to the King, but King Felipe II of Spain's secretaries refused to show his letter to him. Guzman did not believe in the Armada as well as his command skills, and the fleet would be destroyed at the Battle of Gravelines later that year. The blame for the defeat was placed on him, but he would remain an admiral of the Spanish Navy; in 1596, he failed to prevent England's attack on Cadiz, and he died in 1615.